Chicago at Toronto

[Real Deal]

TIME: 7:00 PM ET

TV: n/a

[Built Ford Tough]

A little part of the preview with the 3 keys to the game for Toronto from Raptors HQ.

 

1) Physicality: I was left trying to think of an all-encompassing trait that was sorely lacking in their last match up against the Bulls. It's hard to forget that Joakim Noah almost out-rebounded our entire front court, but at the same time, the Raptors were just coming out without any real energy.

 

Fine. That was the past.

 

But I also wanted to stress the importance of players like an aggressive DeMar DeRozan or Linas Kleiza who will also be an asset against players like Noah. Both players will also be able to attack the Bulls in the paint and they'll be able to draw fouls on guys like Noah if they refuse to back down. There will be some nights when the Raptors will face a front court which is bigger and stronger than their own and as a whole, how the Raptors decide to stand up to them with their physicality will determine if they can overcome one of their bigger weaknesses.

 

2) Get 'er Done Inside: A couple games ago, Triano seemed to send a message to his team by playing his hardest working players in a Celtics loss. I have absolutely no problem with this and if the Raptors need to send another message, so be it. If we have to have guys Andrea Bargnani ride the pine for guys like Joey Dorsey, Triano should have the endorsement to do so.

 

What happened the last game against the Bulls was downright embarrassing and accountability has to be a #1 priority. The Raptors coaching staff simply has to set the tone for what is acceptable and what is not in this young season if we hope our front court to play beyond their career numbers.

 

3) Starting Strong: By now, we know that our secondary unit has been looked upon constantly to provide a spark and create a situation for the Raptors to win. The pattern has been that the Raptors get into some sort of hole, then the secondary unit digs them out and establishes a rhythm or pace and the starters finally find their legs defensively and the Raptors figure out the game by then. This kind of pattern is not going to be acceptable against most teams and is not a recipe for success.

 

http://www.raptorshq.com/2010/10/20/1762802/3-in-the-key-raptors-game-day-preview-vs-the-bulls

 

Don't work tonight and there isn't a Leaf game on, so I'll probably be catching the entire game tonight, which would be my first full game of the preseason. They looked like complete [expletive] in the last game against the Bulls, so hopefully they play a bit better tonight.

 

I'm not expecting much, though, because the Bulls are simply a brutal matchup for the Raptors.

[Pooh25]

Chicago Bulls Key Points:

 

1) Heart: The Chicago Bulls need to play with more heart and it looked like they did not care about the game versus Magic and never put up a fight against them after the Bulls even made a run. Mind you, it's only preseason but the Bulls can't look like they did against the Magic because good teams will take your heart away from you and go on runs like the Magic did and when you finally play with some heart, the game is too late as shown by the Bulls 3rd team Saturday against Orlando.

 

"48 Minutes of Intensity" - Chicago Bulls great RIP Norm Van Lier.

 

2) Consistency: The Chicago Bulls need to have better team consistency offensively. One day they can look the best in the NBA at ball movement and then the next day they look like the worst. They need to consistently move the ball around or else Thibodeau's offense system is going to fail.

 

3) Maintain Leads: The Bulls need to maintain leads with their second group in the pre-season because the starters can't play the whole game as exhibited in the other preseason games. The Bulls second group needs to play better and communicate more defensively and offensively. It looks like the ball is glued on offense to the hands of C.J. Watson and he needs to pass the ball.

[Built Ford Tough]

Jarrett Jack >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Jose Calderon.

 

I'm fine with Calderon starting (although I'd much rather have Jack start) as long as Jack gets 30 minutes a night. He is so much better than Calderon that it is inexcusable for him to have to split his minutes 50/50 with Jose.

 

Also, the Raptors bench is better than their starting lineup by a fairly substantial amount. I think they may be the only team in the league whos bench would beat their starters in a game.

 

Omer Asik is awesome, by the way. I really liked the way that he played during the first game these two teams played and I am even more impressed with him tonight. He seems to alter every shot inside the paint.

Edited October 21, 2010 by Built Ford Tough